Yes, please, Sergeant.

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia

Oh, my name is Mayavan. And I did my masters. In biotechnology. Then I do PhD in biotechnology. Then I took my first post doc. In ICG B. After that, I moved to USA to continue my post-doc study.

Okay, so after your postdoc in the US, what areas of research did you focus on while you were there?

Initial I did A2 post doc in US. So in the first one I was doing biochemical characterization of algae. After that, I moved to Delaware State University. To work on. Multi-omics. Approach in common. Common being for the drought. Resilience.

Alright, so you worked on biochemical characterization of algae and then shifted to a multi-omics approach for drought resilience in common bean at Delaware State. Was there a particular discovery or outcome from your work on drought resilience that you're most proud of?

Yes. There are a lot of finding, lot of finding. We found it. In the. Common been drought resilience. So when we are using a multi omics approach. We actually did transcriptomic study, metabolomic study, and. Proteomics study in the transcriptomics study. We used a number of bioinformatics. To get to know that differential gene expression in the tolerant genotype as well as sensitive genotypes. So in the proteomics study, actually we try to find out what are all the major proteins that actually expressed in tolerant compared to sensitive and their metabolomic analysis. You are trying to find out there. The potential metabolic pathway that actually helped this. Tolerant genotype to grow well against the drought stress.

Yes. There are a lot of finding, lot of finding. We found it. In the. Common been drought resilience. So when we are using a multi omics approach. We actually did transcriptomic study, metabolomic study, and. Proteomics study in the transcriptomics study. We used a number of bioinformatics. To get to know that differential gene expression in the tolerant genotype as well as sensitive genotypes. So in the proteomics study, actually we try to find out what are all the major proteins that actually expressed in tolerant compared to sensitive and their metabolomic analysis. You are trying to find out there. The potential metabolic pathway that actually helped this. Tolerant genotype to grow well against the drought stress. So when we are connect. In transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, we actually come up with a. Very good. Potential genes differentially expressed genes in the transcriptomic as well as. That is a there is a potential pathway in the metabolomic. And we actually finding out that. Potential protein. In the proteomic study. So when we are taking about our gene expression and. We we, we got to connect to the metabolic pathway as well as protein, so that. We we actually found out that some genes are potentially involved for the drought resistant. It's not only expressing, it is also involved in metabolic pathway and it also encodes some important. Primary drought. Tolerant protein in the tolerant genotypes.

Alright, so you ran transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to compare tolerant and sensitive genotypes—sounds like you were integrating a lot of data. Can you tell me about one specific bioinformatics tool or pipeline you used for the transcriptomic analysis, and why you chose it?

Dr. Mayavan, thanks for walking me through your research background. Let’s shift gears a bit. When you’re teaching a foundational theory or laboratory course—say, in bioinformatics or genetics—what’s one concept you really enjoy introducing to new students, and why?

Actually, I would integrate both bioinformatics and genetics. Because. In the genetics, we are trying to locate the some of the molecular mechanism that actually help begin the. Abiotic and biotic stress in plant and using those bioinformatics to. We are trying to locate the potential gene and their. Pathway and its protein encoded. So when we are integrating both. Bioinformatics as well as. And we together, we'll come up with a nice idea that will give us the. Potential breeding target for the specific. Plans.

Actually, I would integrate both bioinformatics and genetics. Because. In the genetics, we are trying to locate the some of the molecular mechanism that actually help begin the. Abiotic and biotic stress in plant and using those bioinformatics to. We are trying to locate the potential gene and their. Pathway and its protein encoded. So when we are integrating both. Bioinformatics as well as. And we together, we'll come up with a nice idea that will give us the. Potential breeding target for the specific. Plans. For the students, I would like to teach both bioinformatics as well as. Genetics so that so. So it actually helping them. To learn research oriented oriented learning. So that. They will. They will come up with the new tools and they will utilize all the new. To find out that all the biological important. Role in those plants, how it actually. Exclude that harsh environment and how it. Prepare the plant. To, to, to, to be. Resilience again.

Actually, I would integrate both bioinformatics and genetics. Because. In the genetics, we are trying to locate the some of the molecular mechanism that actually help begin the. Abiotic and biotic stress in plant and using those bioinformatics to. We are trying to locate the potential gene and their. Pathway and its protein encoded. So when we are integrating both. Bioinformatics as well as. And we together, we'll come up with a nice idea that will give us the. Potential breeding target for the specific. Plans. For the students, I would like to teach both bioinformatics as well as. Genetics so that so. So it actually helping them. To learn research oriented oriented learning. So that. They will. They will come up with the new tools and they will utilize all the new. To find out that all the biological important. Role in those plants, how it actually. Exclude that harsh environment and how it. Prepare the plant. To, to, to, to be. Resilience again. Harsh environment. So this actually. Integrated oper. Approach that will help.

Actually, I would integrate both bioinformatics and genetics. Because. In the genetics, we are trying to locate the some of the molecular mechanism that actually help begin the. Abiotic and biotic stress in plant and using those bioinformatics to. We are trying to locate the potential gene and their. Pathway and its protein encoded. So when we are integrating both. Bioinformatics as well as. And we together, we'll come up with a nice idea that will give us the. Potential breeding target for the specific. Plans. For the students, I would like to teach both bioinformatics as well as. Genetics so that so. So it actually helping them. To learn research oriented oriented learning. So that. They will. They will come up with the new tools and they will utilize all the new. To find out that all the biological important. Role in those plants, how it actually. Exclude that harsh environment and how it. Prepare the plant. To, to, to, to be. Resilience again. Harsh environment. So this actually. Integrated oper. Approach that will help. The climate resilience. Scraps.

Okay, so you like connecting genetics with bioinformatics to help students find breeding targets by linking genes, pathways, and proteins. When you're teaching that integration, how do you make sure students really grasp how these data types fit together—do you use a particular lab exercise or real-world example?

Okay, so you blend genetics and bioinformatics to help students see how genes, pathways, and proteins connect—especially for breeding targets and plant resilience. When you're teaching that integration, how do you make sure students really grasp the practical side, not just the theory?

Right, so you’re integrating genetics and bioinformatics for students to understand plant resilience—connecting gene, protein, and pathway analysis. How do you make sure students stay engaged when the material gets technical or data-heavy?

Okay, so you like integrating bioinformatics and genetics for research-oriented teaching, helping students identify breeding targets and understand climate resilience. When you’re designing a lab course, how do you make sure students actually develop hands-on skills—not just theoretical knowledge?

First I will go. Go to teach the students to isolate. Genetic materials. So that is a very basic and important one. So I. Students to isolate DNA. RLA so we are not going to stop. Up to then we will further continue after isolating DNA, RNA and I'm going to convert. Into the cDNA, so that is transcriptomic part. So after that cDNA. So we are making a cDNA library, cDNA library and send it for sequencing.

First I will go. Go to teach the students to isolate. Genetic materials. So that is a very basic and important one. So I. Students to isolate DNA. RLA so we are not going to stop. Up to then we will further continue after isolating DNA, RNA and I'm going to convert. Into the cDNA, so that is transcriptomic part. So after that cDNA. So we are making a cDNA library, cDNA library and send it for sequencing. Other than in addition to the. We also we are also trying to utilize real-time PC.

First I will go. Go to teach the students to isolate. Genetic materials. So that is a very basic and important one. So I. Students to isolate DNA. RLA so we are not going to stop. Up to then we will further continue after isolating DNA, RNA and I'm going to convert. Into the cDNA, so that is transcriptomic part. So after that cDNA. So we are making a cDNA library, cDNA library and send it for sequencing. Other than in addition to the. We also we are also trying to utilize real-time PC. Real-time PCR is an important technique to give you a. Preliminary result. On your long. Long gold research so in the real time PCR you will try to find out there. Gene expression variation between the tolerant as well as sensitive.

First I will go. Go to teach the students to isolate. Genetic materials. So that is a very basic and important one. So I. Students to isolate DNA. RLA so we are not going to stop. Up to then we will further continue after isolating DNA, RNA and I'm going to convert. Into the cDNA, so that is transcriptomic part. So after that cDNA. So we are making a cDNA library, cDNA library and send it for sequencing. Other than in addition to the. We also we are also trying to utilize real-time PC. Real-time PCR is an important technique to give you a. Preliminary result. On your long. Long gold research so in the real time PCR you will try to find out there. Gene expression variation between the tolerant as well as sensitive. So. After once you found out the important gene, then you are trying to locate those genes. So for that we are doing a transcriptomic as well as. And metabolomic approach so these. These approaches. Along with the bioinformatics. That will tell you about the location. And the important role? So first I will do the molecular biology technique. And we also try. That biochemical. Our system and we also trying to do that. Gene library synthesis. And once we get the data after sequencing, we are trying to analyze those images to get the output. Of those sequence. So once we. We did all the basic molecular biotech. Nick, we actually take this technique to the. Over long, long goal approaches. So when we are looking at the technique we are using, we will use molecular biology technique. Biochemical assay and we also trying to look at the microbiology. Microbiology. Because we will like to use some of the. Some of them. Saw you microorganism that also help. In this in this approach. So we will like to use microbiology technique. And also we will we will try you to. We will try you to use some of the bioinformatics tool. And as well as we are, we, we are also trying to. Look at the. And other enzyme assay. And when we are doing all kind of assays. And the and the involving molecular biology technique. Everything we will come to know that. We will come to know the complete picture of. We the complete picture of this study the study actually give. Actually give us the important points as well as. Potential potential genes. Path. Proteins. Proteins. That actually give this planned resilience today. Abiotic. Biotic stress.

First I will go. Go to teach the students to isolate. Genetic materials. So that is a very basic and important one. So I. Students to isolate DNA. RLA so we are not going to stop. Up to then we will further continue after isolating DNA, RNA and I'm going to convert. Into the cDNA, so that is transcriptomic part. So after that cDNA. So we are making a cDNA library, cDNA library and send it for sequencing. Other than in addition to the. We also we are also trying to utilize real-time PC. Real-time PCR is an important technique to give you a. Preliminary result. On your long. Long gold research so in the real time PCR you will try to find out there. Gene expression variation between the tolerant as well as sensitive. So. After once you found out the important gene, then you are trying to locate those genes. So for that we are doing a transcriptomic as well as. And metabolomic approach so these. These approaches. Along with the bioinformatics. That will tell you about the location. And the important role? So first I will do the molecular biology technique. And we also try. That biochemical. Our system and we also trying to do that. Gene library synthesis. And once we get the data after sequencing, we are trying to analyze those images to get the output. Of those sequence.

Dr. Mayavan, I noticed your paper in Biomolecules—“Comprehensive Proteomic Analysis of Common Bean Seeds Reveal Shared and Unique Proteins Involved in Terminal Drought Stress Response.” How has the research from that publication influenced the way you teach drought stress biology to undergraduates?

Alright, so you start by teaching students to isolate DNA and RNA, then you move them through cDNA conversion, library prep, sequencing, and real-time PCR. When students struggle with any of these hands-on steps—let’s say the DNA isolation isn’t working—how do you help them troubleshoot without just giving them the answer?

Alright, you walk students through DNA and RNA isolation, cDNA conversion, library prep, sequencing, and real-time PCR—really hands-on. When students hit a snag with any of these steps, how do you adjust your teaching so everyone gets the technique?

Alright, you walk students through everything from isolating genetic material to analyzing sequencing data and gene expression—really hands-on. When your students get stuck, especially during something technical like cDNA library prep or interpreting sequencing results, how do you adjust your teaching to help them get unstuck without just giving them the answer?

Alright, you bring students all the way from DNA isolation through sequencing and bioinformatics analysis—really full spectrum. Now, looking back at your multi-omics drought resilience research, can you give me one example of how you simplified those results for undergraduate students or a non-specialist audience?

OK. So when we are looking at the. DNA. So that DNA, that DNA. Contain lot of letters. So we we are trying to locate that which part of that book. Actually. Expressing. Actually we need to read. Solve those issues. So. In that category we are trying to locate the pages. At what pages?

OK. So when we are looking at the. DNA. So that DNA, that DNA. Contain lot of letters. So we we are trying to locate that which part of that book. Actually. Expressing. Actually we need to read. Solve those issues. So. In that category we are trying to locate the pages. At what pages? This our experience. Expected content is there. So once we founded the page. Then we are going to read the paragraph. That that particular word in those pages, it will not stop there. Because. That particular word in those whole paragraph? So we are trying to look. Look at that. What the red? Will tell us about the. So in that. Paragraph we are. Trying to look at the. Where this that word is? Interconnected to the all the biology. Optical reaction. That will occur sequentially. So that will that that that where you, you that where you will see the metabolomic and proteomic. Good. So once you read the. Paragraph then you. In on the book. Then you will. You will come to know that conclusion. OK, this word is a important word. That word has a lot of interconnected to the. Approaches. So once you read all the, once you read all the interconnection, then you finally come to the conclusion. That these genes are very important. Potential because. These red are are are the starting point to connect to connect. All the dots. For all the stars. The end to our conclusion.

OK. So when we are looking at the. DNA. So that DNA, that DNA. Contain lot of letters. So we we are trying to locate that which part of that book. Actually. Expressing. Actually we need to read. Solve those issues.

Given your experience with multi-omics and drought resilience, where do you see the most fundable directions for research over the next three years? What grants or funding sources would you target to support that work?

Right, so you’re simplifying the concept by comparing DNA to a book and focusing on the “pages” that need to be read for expression. For your drought resilience work, how would you leverage your experience securing external research funding or grants to support high-impact research at VIT University?

Right, so you used the book analogy to help students grasp how genes connect to metabolic and protein pathways—makes it more approachable. Now, Professor, with regard to securing external research funding or grants, can you share an example from your past experience and how you’d leverage similar strategies to support high-impact research at VIT University?

Yes, so. I I was serving as a principal investigator in the major project that was funded by. That was funded by USDA as well as I also got a project from the NIH, so. I so in that project I was, I was writing a proposal, yeah, well managed proposal as well as. I I was trying, I I was trying to locate the what is the actual real time problem. So based on that I wrote a proposal and I got successful 2 project. So in that 2 project I was actually mentally mentoring. Undergraduate as well as. Graduate students. And for their thesis and also. I teach them to. Land a cutting edge and molecular technique.

Yes, so. I I was serving as a principal investigator in the major project that was funded by. That was funded by USDA as well as I also got a project from the NIH, so. I so in that project I was, I was writing a proposal, yeah, well managed proposal as well as. I I was trying, I I was trying to locate the what is the actual real time problem. So based on that I wrote a proposal and I got successful 2 project. So in that 2 project I was actually mentally mentoring. Undergraduate as well as. Graduate students. And for their thesis and also. I teach them to. Land a cutting edge and molecular technique. This project actually. Help me lot. To manage a project. To manage a budget. And also I was I was trying to. And also I was a cop for the project for the. For the grant, so that grant actually a inter university.

Yes, so. I I was serving as a principal investigator in the major project that was funded by. That was funded by USDA as well as I also got a project from the NIH, so. I so in that project I was, I was writing a proposal, yeah, well managed proposal as well as. I I was trying, I I was trying to locate the what is the actual real time problem. So based on that I wrote a proposal and I got successful 2 project. So in that 2 project I was actually mentally mentoring. Undergraduate as well as. Graduate students. And for their thesis and also. I teach them to. Land a cutting edge and molecular technique. This project actually. Help me lot. To manage a project. To manage a budget. And also I was I was trying to. And also I was a cop for the project for the. For the grant, so that grant actually a inter university. So the. So the cook. Principal investigator so that. Project Actually, we are we we are actually collaborating with the. Other institution so that this will also help us more. To bring the students here and train them a new technique and also. Please send them to. Plan some new technique. So I. I got AI, got a complete. I got all the kind of experience this. Experience. Since I leverage the. Experience to write a very grand book.

Yes, so. I I was serving as a principal investigator in the major project that was funded by. That was funded by USDA as well as I also got a project from the NIH, so. I so in that project I was, I was writing a proposal, yeah, well managed proposal as well as. I I was trying, I I was trying to locate the what is the actual real time problem. So based on that I wrote a proposal and I got successful 2 project. So in that 2 project I was actually mentally mentoring. Undergraduate as well as. Graduate students. And for their thesis and also. I teach them to. Land a cutting edge and molecular technique. This project actually. Help me lot. To manage a project. To manage a budget. And also I was I was trying to. And also I was a cop for the project for the. For the grant, so that grant actually a inter university. So the. So the cook. Principal investigator so that. Project Actually, we are we we are actually collaborating with the. Other institution so that this will also help us more. To bring the students here and train them a new technique and also. Please send them to. Plan some new technique. So I. I got AI, got a complete. I got all the kind of experience this. Experience. Since I leverage the. Experience to write a very grand book. To in India like I can say. Funding from DB. Carry such so. The the fund I got in my previous. Four-stock experts. Actually helped me a lot. To trying to. Trying to get a lot of funding. From the DBT DST. As well as. PM Carrier Research. Research granted and other. Other. Such as that actually the other researchers that will support. That will support our research as well as mentoring students. And train them a new technique.

Yes, so. I I was serving as a principal investigator in the major project that was funded by. That was funded by USDA as well as I also got a project from the NIH, so. I so in that project I was, I was writing a proposal, yeah, well managed proposal as well as. I I was trying, I I was trying to locate the what is the actual real time problem. So based on that I wrote a proposal and I got successful 2 project. So in that 2 project I was actually mentally mentoring. Undergraduate as well as. Graduate students. And for their thesis and also. I teach them to. Land a cutting edge and molecular technique. This project actually. Help me lot. To manage a project. To manage a budget. And also I was I was trying to. And also I was a cop for the project for the. For the grant, so that grant actually a inter university. So the. So the cook. Principal investigator so that. Project Actually, we are we we are actually collaborating with the. Other institution so that this will also help us more. To bring the students here and train them a new technique and also. Please send them to. Plan some new technique. So I. I got AI, got a complete. I got all the kind of experience this. Experience. Since I leverage the. Experience to write a very grand book. To in India like I can say. Funding from DB. Carry such so. The the fund I got in my previous. Four-stock experts. Actually helped me a lot.

Yes, so. I I was serving as a principal investigator in the major project that was funded by. That was funded by USDA as well as I also got a project from the NIH, so. I so in that project I was, I was writing a proposal, yeah, well managed proposal as well as. I I was trying, I I was trying to locate the what is the actual real time problem. So based on that I wrote a proposal and I got successful 2 project. So in that 2 project I was actually mentally mentoring. Undergraduate as well as. Graduate students. And for their thesis and also. I teach them to. Land a cutting edge and molecular technique. This project actually. Help me lot. To manage a project. To manage a budget. And also I was I was trying to. And also I was a cop for the project for the. For the grant, so that grant actually a inter university. So the. So the cook. Principal investigator so that. Project Actually, we are we we are actually collaborating with the. Other institution so that this will also help us more. To bring the students here and train them a new technique and also. Please send them to. Plan some new technique. So I. I got AI, got a complete. I got all the kind of experience this. Experience. Since I leverage the. Experience to write a very grand book. To in India like I can say. Funding from DB.

Alright, you’ve served as PI on USDA and NIH-funded projects, wrote proposals targeting real-world problems, and mentored students on advanced techniques. Thinking about VIT University’s push for global collaborations, how would you go about building academic relationships or networks internationally to advance the institution’s research profile and publication output?

You managed NIH and USDA grants, wrote proposals targeting real-world issues, and mentored both undergrad and grad students. When you were PI, how did you handle setbacks—like rejected proposals or budget cuts—and what would you do differently if faced with similar challenges at VIT?

Alright, you’ve managed multi-institutional grants, mentored students, and handled both USDA and NIH funding—that’s solid experience. Thinking about VIT’s emphasis on global collaboration, how would you go about building international academic relationships or networks to advance the institution’s research profile and publication output?

Alright, you’ve managed USDA and NIH grants, mentored students, and collaborated across institutions. Now, VIT University places emphasis on global collaborations. How do you plan to build academic relationships or networks internationally to advance the institution's research profile and publication output?

Alright, you had experience as PI on USDA and NIH grants, managed budgets, wrote proposals, and worked across institutions. Now, thinking about VIT’s proactive approach to academic excellence, how would you design a new course module or curriculum in your specialization while making sure it aligns with industry trends and accreditation standards?

Alright, you’ve managed both USDA and NIH grants, collaborated with other institutions, and mentored students through those projects. Thinking about VIT’s emphasis on global collaboration, how would you go about building international academic relationships to advance the university’s research profile and publication output?

Since I have a collaborative project so. So I will. So I will. I will. So I will initiate a project that is, that is having a collaborative natural research project. So I will contact some of my friends, some of some of my colleagues. The some of my colleagues. And we both together write a written collaborative project. So this will actually. Help students in VAT. So if there is a chance or if if there is a chances that we are getting, we can stand actually student. To do their lab to land a new technique. New advanced cutting edge molecular biology techniques and also. Receive some of the student from our collaborator lab. Under we will teach them. The technique that we are doing in the vit. So it's more, it's so the students will. So actually these students will get a lot. This lot of landing in learning new technique. And that will actually help them to excel in their future career.

Since I have a collaborative project so. So I will. So I will. I will. So I will initiate a project that is, that is having a collaborative natural research project. So I will contact some of my friends, some of some of my colleagues. The some of my colleagues. And we both together write a written collaborative project. So this will actually. Help students in VAT. So if there is a chance or if if there is a chances that we are getting, we can stand actually student. To do their lab to land a new technique. New advanced cutting edge molecular biology techniques and also. Receive some of the student from our collaborator lab. Under we will teach them. The technique that we are doing in the vit. So it's more, it's so the students will. So actually these students will get a lot. This lot of landing in learning new technique.

You’ve got experience initiating collaborative projects and bringing students into new labs, and you’d leverage your network for international partnerships at VIT. Let me ask—given VIT’s focus on aligning academics with industry and accreditation standards, how would you design a new course module in your specialization to make sure it meets those requirements?

Oh, so for the for industry related project. So we are try clean. So. In in my post experience. I was doing some plant research and also I submitted some. Microbial microbial related research. So in that we actually I. The soil microbium, some of the mic. They are sequence. Actually they they were very new. And they they, they are only particular to the Commonwealth we actually seek. Some and submit, submit into the NCBI. So with the sequences, so we are and after that we were trying to locate some of the microbiology biochemical characterization. So we were. So in that we were trying to find some of the potential strain that. Actually. The plant resulates to the abiotic stresses. So maybe that's. Maybe a potential sale that we can, that we can, that we can. That that we can commercialize. I see AI see a. Help.

Oh, so for the for industry related project. So we are try clean. So. In in my post experience. I was doing some plant research and also I submitted some. Microbial microbial related research. So in that we actually I. The soil microbium, some of the mic. They are sequence. Actually they they were very new. And they they, they are only particular to the Commonwealth we actually seek. Some and submit, submit into the NCBI. So with the sequences, so we are and after that we were trying to locate some of the microbiology biochemical characterization. So we were. So in that we were trying to find some of the potential strain that. Actually. The plant resulates to the abiotic stresses. So maybe that's. Maybe a potential sale that we can, that we can, that we can. That that we can commercialize. I see AI see a. Help. To the. We are trying to and we are trying to collaborate with the industrial partner. So we can give this. Microbes them to to. To multiply it and mass product it. So what? I don't see this mosque. Product edited and we we were tested and we were tested their ability. And also we were also trying to find out some of the microbes. Actually enhancing plant nutrients during the stress condition. So we also look up. Gross microbes and. Apart from that, since we are, since we are, since I was, I was doing a genotype analysis. So in the genotype analysis in India, in India. Especially I was trying to find out some of. Drought tolerant plants as well as drought tolerant plants as well as. Sensitive genotype. We actually we. I was trying to, I was trying to get a help from the industry. To to to find out some of to find out some of the genotype that actually grow well in some horse condition. And also the the project I the project I was working on the it's a mosque Cresp. Plant this mosques plant actually helping. Helping the plant to uptake more salt as well as nutrients. So in that case, if we are. So by by by collaborating with the. Industry. We actually we actually go to the some site and we are trying to. Find out some of the. Mosque grass plant that grow well in coastal area that. The coastal area, this marsh. Not only helping the. Not only helping the not only helping the salt tolerance ability, but. Absorb nutrients. That is come up from the playing area, so act. This type of mass crash plant with collaboration with the industry, we are trying to locate the some of the plant. And we try. We. And we will. We will, we will. A risk plant. Unreal. We will try to find out some of the genes as well as proteomic approach. After that, once we find out that the. Find out Find out the potential plant. So we will take all the plants. And grow into the. Area where more salt and more nutrients is. So this will actually.

Oh, so for the for industry related project. So we are try clean. So. In in my post experience. I was doing some plant research and also I submitted some. Microbial microbial related research. So in that we actually I. The soil microbium, some of the mic. They are sequence. Actually they they were very new. And they they, they are only particular to the Commonwealth we actually seek. Some and submit, submit into the NCBI. So with the sequences, so we are and after that we were trying to locate some of the microbiology biochemical characterization. So we were. So in that we were trying to find some of the potential strain that. Actually. The plant resulates to the abiotic stresses. So maybe that's. Maybe a potential sale that we can, that we can, that we can. That that we can commercialize. I see AI see a. Help. To the. We are trying to and we are trying to collaborate with the industrial partner. So we can give this. Microbes them to to. To multiply it and mass product it. So what? I don't see this mosque. Product edited and we we were tested and we were tested their ability. And also we were also trying to find out some of the microbes. Actually enhancing plant nutrients during the stress condition. So we also look up. Gross microbes and. Apart from that, since we are, since we are, since I was, I was doing a genotype analysis. So in the genotype analysis in India, in India. Especially I was trying to find out some of. Drought tolerant plants as well as drought tolerant plants as well as. Sensitive genotype. We actually we. I was trying to, I was trying to get a help from the industry. To to to find out some of to find out some of the genotype that actually grow well in some horse condition. And also the the project I the project I was working on the it's a mosque Cresp. Plant this mosques plant actually helping. Helping the plant to uptake more salt as well as nutrients. So in that case, if we are. So by by by collaborating with the. Industry. We actually we actually go to the some site and we are trying to. Find out some of the. Mosque grass plant that grow well in coastal area that. The coastal area, this marsh. Not only helping the. Not only helping the not only helping the salt tolerance ability, but. Absorb nutrients. That is come up from the playing area, so act. This type of mass crash plant with collaboration with the industry, we are trying to locate the some of the plant. And we try. We. And we will. We will, we will. A risk plant. Unreal. We will try to find out some of the genes as well as proteomic approach. After that, once we find out that the. Find out Find out the potential plant. So we will take all the plants. And grow into the. Area where more salt and more nutrients is. So this will actually. Help to uptake more retrans. And salinity so this. Will actually bio remediate those. Area so even those. In those long long term. I'll definitely. I'll definitely. Yeah, industrial population.

Okay, so you’re talking about sequencing novel soil microbes and looking for strains that might be commercially valuable, especially for plant resilience. When you’re designing a curriculum with that kind of industry relevance, how do you make sure it also meets accreditation standards and prepares students for current market needs?

Okay, you’re talking about finding novel microbes and drought-tolerant plants, then collaborating with industry to commercialize those strains and align the curriculum with real-world applications. How do you make sure the course content stays up to date with accreditation requirements and shifts in industry practice?

You’re talking about finding novel microbes and drought-tolerant plants, then collaborating with industry to commercialize those strains and align the curriculum with real-world applications. How would you ensure the course content stays up-to-date with accreditation standards and changes in industry needs over time?

So. So in the so in the real time world, so. Some of the some of the cropland they are growing in harsh condition like a drought as well as salt and as well as more nutrient condition. So why? Founding out these are the. Microbes that actually help those plants grow well. And we are, and we will find out the more potential sin. That will potentially send. Essentially commercialized.

So. So in the so in the real time world, so. Some of the some of the cropland they are growing in harsh condition like a drought as well as salt and as well as more nutrient condition. So why? Founding out these are the. Microbes that actually help those plants grow well. And we are, and we will find out the more potential sin. That will potentially send. Essentially commercialized. This easily commercialized plant. Once we find out that it has a more. No potential. To help the plant to grow in harsh conditions as well as. Environmental polluted area. We actually, we actually interact with the farmers. On the outreach system and. From and they encourage them. To move this commercial applicable micro. So that they can help them and. Increase their.

Okay, shifting gears a bit. You mentioned integrating bioinformatics and genetics for students. Imagine you’re teaching a big introductory course—say, 200 students—and you can’t use slides. How would you run that session to keep everyone actively engaged and learning?

Professor Mayavan, accreditation cycles can be demanding. If you joined our department and found that outcome assessment data was inconsistent across courses, how would you approach fixing that?

First, I will start with the basic biology. Biology. From this base. I will go. I will go slowly into. Slowly into the more advanced. Advanced technique. It's more like. Like I will start with the biology. I will start with the base. And and I will go. Who are the advanced strategy so that student can student? Can have yet. Fundamental Fundamental knowledge of. Those biology. And research oriented. Once they learn those fundamentals then I will slowly move in. Advanced technique. So in that way. Viva, I will start with the. I will start at the more basic technique. Are from the basic technique student. From the basic technique student will land. How to apply those basic techniques? To the broader upper. Occasionally area so when we are doing. Base as well as broader application area, so. There, there will there will be a continuation flow. That actually give us a complete picture.

Okay, so you’d start with fundamental biology and gradually move toward advanced topics, making sure students have a strong foundation before tackling broader applications. But let’s say you see that instructors are all assessing outcomes differently—one uses written exams, another uses lab reports, another uses oral presentations. How would you standardize assessment so the data is consistent for accreditation purposes?

So by doing return tests as well as. Or as as well as. Oral meeting as well as meeting with the student. So, uh. So the. Approach is first, I will approach the students based on their written exam. I will try to find out where they where they were, where they were lacking in the information. So with that information, I will try to I will try to. I will try to encourage them. Study more on those. Those lacking information. So once you found that, and I will, I will try to. How the interaction with the student so I. To have a one to one meeting with the students. And I will discuss broadly about what we are doing. How this happen? Approach will help us.

Okay, so you’d start by looking at written exam results to find gaps, then follow up with students through oral meetings and one-on-one discussions to address those gaps. For accreditation, though, we need consistent assessment formats across courses—how would you get all instructors to agree on a standardized method?

So by doing return tests as well as. Or as as well as. Oral meeting as well as meeting with the student. So, uh. So the. Approach is first, I will approach the students based on their written exam. I will try to find out where they where they were, where they were lacking in the information. So with that information, I will try to I will try to. I will try to encourage them. Study more on those. Those lacking information. So once you found that, and I will, I will try to. How the interaction with the student so I. To have a one to one meeting with the students. And I will discuss broadly about what we are doing. How this happen? Approach will help us. Go beyond the lab. And how how to out? Outreach the farmers and other lady so once once. I'll tell you how the once I have them. Buddha understand. To understand this fundamental as well as advanced technique. This actually this actually helped the. Who excel both in classroom as well as. In the outside. Hello. Are we still there?

Alright, so you'd use written tests and oral meetings to identify where students are struggling and then follow up one-on-one. For accreditation, though, we need consistency in how outcomes are measured. How would you work with other faculty to make sure everyone's assessment methods align so our accreditation data stays reliable?

So as I mentioned earlier, so I will try to do the inter department collaborations. So with that inter department collaborations. The the the curriculum I designed so. That actually helped the student. PK courses in other department also.

So as I mentioned earlier, so I will try to do the inter department collaborations. So with that inter department collaborations. The the the curriculum I designed so. That actually helped the student. PK courses in other department also. So it is more or like student will land basic technique. But. They will cover. All the subject in other department. Because when we are doing a research oriented teaching. So it's all a multidisciplinary approach. So when we are doing a multidisciplinary approaches. We are the the the the curriculum I designed it is all. It is always helped us. Student 2 steps. Not only in their own department, but it also encourage them. So also encourage them to study. Object from other department so when the students. For doing a multidisciplinary approach. Now after that the student will have a complete pit.

You mentioned earlier about collaborating with other institutions and industry. Imagine this scenario: a colleague asks you to co-author a research paper, but while reviewing their data, you notice some results look questionable—maybe even manipulated. At the same time, there’s pressure from your department to increase publication output. How would you handle this situation?

Alright, you’ve shared quite a bit about your approach. Now, given your background in bioinformatics and genetics, do you have any industry connections that could translate into internship or placement opportunities for students at VIT?

So as I mentioned earlier, so I will try to do the inter department collaborations. So with that inter department collaborations. The the the curriculum I designed so. That actually helped the student. PK courses in other department also. So it is more or like student will land basic technique. But. They will cover. All the subject in other department. Because when we are doing a research oriented teaching. So it's all a multidisciplinary approach. So when we are doing a multidisciplinary approaches. We are the the the the curriculum I designed it is all. It is always helped us. Student 2 steps. Not only in their own department, but it also encourage them. So also encourage them to study. Object from other department so when the students. For doing a multidisciplinary approach. Now after that the student will have a complete pit. Completed picture of. Uh, complete for their future career. Hello. Are we still there?

So as I mentioned earlier, so I will try to do the inter department collaborations. So with that inter department collaborations. The the the curriculum I designed so. That actually helped the student. PK courses in other department also. So it is more or like student will land basic technique. But. They will cover. All the subject in other department. Because when we are doing a research oriented teaching. So it's all a multidisciplinary approach. So when we are doing a multidisciplinary approaches. We are the the the the curriculum I designed it is all. It is always helped us. Student 2 steps. Not only in their own department, but it also encourage them. So also encourage them to study. Object from other department so when the students. For doing a multidisciplinary approach. Now after that the student will have a complete pit. Completed picture of. Uh, complete for their future career. Hello. Are we still there? Can I get the next question?

Okay, you’re focused on multidisciplinary collaboration and cross-department courses to give students a broad skill set. But for industry alignment, do you have any specific connections—companies or research labs—that could help students land internships or placements based on your experience?

Right, you’d push for interdepartmental collaboration and multidisciplinary curriculum so students get exposure beyond their own major. But I was asking specifically about standardizing outcome assessments—so if faculty are using different methods, how would you help them agree on a common framework for measuring student achievement?

So it's more alike, uh. So. So when when we are when we are assigning a curriculum. So. We I actually introducing a base. A basic technique, say for example molecular biology technique. So. When the students. Landing molecular material like DNA, RNA because DNA is. Same everywhere. DNA say DNA in. Plant as well as animal. And insect. When the store. When the students has a strong foundation in their. Basic fundamental aspect of their subject. So they can they can they can easily. Advanced technique because they are fundamental and basic. Actually help them. Teddy in in in the future. So, uh. In in the way. I'll try to. I tried. Design A curriculum. That curriculum should be a multidisciplinary. And also. That curriculum will have a. Very fundamental and basic. Information. Basic information about the. Student will. So student will learn all the. The fundamental technique when they do. When they do, when they, when they are learning all these basic fundamental techniques that actually help them. To to excel in their future career.

Alright, thanks for sharing your thoughts on curriculum design and collaboration. Now, I want to verify a few specific skills for this role. Let’s start with your expertise in bioinformatics or biomedical genetics—can you walk me through a time you solved a complex data analysis challenge using bioinformatics tools?

So I. It's actually using some of the bioinformatics. So the bioinformatics, bioinformatics work we did, actually it is a collaborative work. So. We are also. We we actually, I was. So I was get, I was getting help from the collaborator. To use some of the two. The tools actually I was using. Some of the. DSC-2 that is actually for. Differential gene expression and also I used some Sam tool. To all those. Sequences against reference genomic. And I was. Also using some of the kick pathway. To analyze those metabolic pathway from those gene expression. And. I also use some. Some some some of the. Tools that are available in bioinformatics. Will do molecular interactions. Those are the tools. Those are the tools actually I was using during my study since it is our collaborative research. They actually give us a more input on the tools. On the data analysis. So once we get the images data analysis analysis. By corroborating work, I was actually analyzing those images. And wrote a complete manuscript. So since I was doing all the research from all the research from. From uh. From plantation plant transformation and plant metabolic engineering and alkyl biochemical. Precession and plants. Just biology. So I had AI, had a, I had a. Put a handful of experience in. All this. And all in the. In this all this. Biotechnology subject. So I did have a theoretical knowledge of the biomedical aspect, but I don't I don't have any research knowledge on the biomedical aspect. Hello. Are we still the? Can I get the next question?

Okay, you’ve used DSC-2 for differential gene expression, SAMtools for sequence alignment, and KEGG pathways to analyze metabolic networks, all as part of a collaborative bioinformatics project. That’s solid practical exposure. Now, can you give me an example of how you’ve guided student research projects—specifically, how you help students pick a research topic and see it through to publication?

So when I was. Mentoring the students we actually we actually in. Interested to find out the sum of the differential. Express gene that that express only in the drought tolerant plant. So I. I actually teach student. To land the molecular biology technique like DNA, RNA and cDNA preparation. After that we took those. DNA and we did a real time PCR analysis. So in that real time PCR analysis, we were trying to find out some of the gene are more expressed in the tolerant compared to the sensitive genotype.